บท 259: A talk with dad
(Masaru's pov)
I'm a bit worried about what Akio was implying about Dad. What he said about Dad didn't sound like him. I can vouch for it. Whenever we ask him for anything, he tries to grant us anything while still being reasonable.
We wanted to train, and he started training us. We wanted to leave Sereitei to explore, and he let us.
It doesn't sound like he only cared for strength, money, or himself. If that was the case, he wouldn't adopt Rangiku and Gin. He wouldn't marry mom, Isane-kaasan, and Yoruichi-kaasan. He wouldn't have children in the first place. In the first place, Dad doesn't seem greedy for money. He respects it since he lived in the poor part of the Rukongai district, but that's all. Not to mention that he regularly goes to the Captain of Squad 13 to examine him.
I can't stop worrying, though. What if there was some truth in what Akio said. I don't believe it, but he gave me a name that I can investigate.
Yan Fon and it's eerily familiar to Soi Fon, and that would be my first lead.
---
I went to the 2nd division barracks to look for Soi Fon, and the best way to find her was through my dad, as he became Captain there not a long time ago.
I didn't need to look around for long. I only needed to look around for a tree that would be good to nap under, and just like that, I found my parent relaxing there.
I walked up to him with the intention of waking him up, but before I could say or do anything, he spoke up.
"What is it, Masaru?"
It didn't surprise me that he could sense me. He always was better at sensing others than I was, but I didn't expect him to be awake.
"I thought that you were sleeping."
Dad stood up and started stretching.
"I was, but it doesn't mean that I'm not paying attention to my surroundings. Otherwise, someone could get a jump on me, but never mind me, you want to ask me for something, am I right?"
"Yes, I wanted to ask where Soi Fon is. I have a matter with her to discuss."
Dad perked up hearing it.
"Is it finally a day!?" He seemed strangely energetic about it. "I was waiting for this day longer than I thought. Literal decades, I tell you, but I can finally have this man-to-man talk with you. First, the key to success is confidence. Doesn't matter if you don't know what you are doing. It worked for me far more than it should..."
... I think he misunderstood something.
"Dad... I don't know what you are talking about it. I just wanted to ask Soi Fon about something."
"Well... this is awkward. I already sent hell Butterflies to your mothers about celebrating you having an interest in the opposite sex. We were starting to worry that we won't become grandparents at this rate."
Only Dad could make me this speechless.
"Dad, I barely became an adult. Also, I don't know many girls my age. Besides Yukima, who is my sister, and Rangiku, who is my adoptive sister, I don't know any other girls."
Besides, I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment.
"Right... I sometimes forget that you age differently than I did. When I was sixteen, I was already preparing myself to be a father, and you are 80 years old and barely an adult. Strange world we are living in."
True, Mom and Dad are literally from a different world. They both came to Soul Society and retained their memories of their lives, but I suspect there is something more to it. They always were very vague about their early life.
"Yeah, Dad, I would love to talk about your life, but right now, I really need to talk with Soi Fon."
I may be a bit hasty, but I would like to clear the uncertainties in my mind as fast as possible.
"Before I do that, can you listen to my rambling for a bit?" Dad asked, which confused me, but I didn't mind.
"You see, Masaru, out of all of my children, you are the most similar to me... for better or worse. It means that I can read you better than your siblings because you think in a similar way, and right now, you say that you have a business with Soi Fon, but that's not the whole truth, is it."
My heartbeat quickened. I don't understand why. I love my father, so why... am I scared? Am I scared that the person I love, and respect was just a lie, or I don't want this lie to end...
The whole time Dad was talking, he was calm, but it didn't help calm my nerves.
Maybe... maybe I should just face Dad.
Without me even noticing, I let my hand rest on the hilt of my Zanpakuto, but Dad didn't pay it any attention. Was it confidence in his strength? Possibly. He was much stronger than me, but there could be another reason that I would like to believe in. What if he believed that I wouldn't harm him, and my actions were simply unreasonable.
... Akio got to my head more than I thought.
I took a deep breath, let go of the hilt of my weapon, and, full of determination, looked at my father.
"Dad... who is Yan Fon?"
Dad didn't answer, and everything second of silence was like an eternity to me, waiting patiently for his answer.
"Let's go somewhere else..."
---
We went to our usual training spot, called the Study Chamber, and we didn't exchange a single word between us. Not like it took that long with our speed to get there, but learning the truth will be nerve-wracking. Just like Akio said, that knows about Yan Fon. I don't know what connection he does have with her, but whatever it is, it must be serious.
After we finally stopped, Dad turned to me, took down his glasses, removed his contacts, and looked at me with his real but, at the same time, unreal eyes.
He only does that when he is completely earnest. Dad claims that the eyes are the window of the soul, so by showing his eyes, he wants to show his sincerity.
"Masaru, you know too much."
In an instant, Dad got behind me, and I felt a prick on the back of my neck.
"This poison will make air poisonous to you. In about a few thousand years, you will die."
Before I could register what had happened, Dad did something to me. Am I going to... die?
Wait...
Then the realization hit me as I looked at Dad and saw his grin. The same grin that he has when he successfully pranks someone.
My reaction was to show a deadpan face to my old man.
"Not funny? I thought it was good. When I was younger, there was this joke that air is poisonous and makes us die but very slowly... But never mind that. Feeling better?"
What? He is right; I feel slightly more relaxed. Did the joke losen all the tension inside me?
Seeing that his plan worked, he gently smiled, but it was a short-lived smile as soon after, his face turned... emotionless.
"I'm going to be honest. When I woke up today, I wasn't expecting to hear that name from my son's mouth at that." Dad's voice was calm, scarily so, lacking his usual teasing or more vibrant tone that he usually has. It was lacking emotions, as if he tried to distance himself from them.
"I was sure that only Yoruichi knew about my connection to Yan Fon, but it seems that I was mistaken. Masaru, what I am about to tell you, you cannot share this with anyone. Not with your mothers, not with your sibling, not with anyone."
---
What I heard from Dad was... heartbreaking for me. I know that the world is a cruel place. That's why I'm training so hard, but even though I knew that my parents didn't have the easiest of life, I didn't expect him to sacrifice his own morals for Mom. But by doing that, he destroyed someone else's family. Soi Fon's family.
"So now you know why I asked you to keep this a secret. Rin would feel responsible for forcing me into doing what I did. Not to mention that I still have scars from when I fought Yan Fon's bodyguards. That's why I need you to tell me how you got information about her. Yoruichi buried all of the information about her as deeply as she possibly could, so my bad decision from my youth won't bite me in the future."
What Dad is saying makes sense, so I decided to share what I knew.
"Akio told me."
Dad narrowed his eyes.
"Akio is a smart kid, but he wouldn't find out this information by sheer accident. If that was so easy, Central 46 would bang on my doors ages ago. He either must have dug deep, real deep or... someone..." Dad trailed off, starting to think about something.
Wait, someone...
"Dad, I don't know if that helps, but Akio mentioned something about wanting to join the Gotei 13 and moving out. He even has a recommendation from someone."
That made Dad stop his quiet murmuring, and I could feel many emotions explode, confusion, anger, sadness, but one of them was something I didn't feel from my father before, fear.
"Do you know from whom he got the recommendation?" he finally asked me, at which I shook my head. "Then it looks like we will have a very awkward dinner tonight."
---
END
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